General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Partial or Dappled Shade
Partial Shade to Full Shade
Full Shade
Water Preferences: Wet
Wet Mesic
Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Moderately acid (5.6 – 6.0)
Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 9a
Plant Height: 1 to 2 feet
Plant Spread: 1 to 2 feet and more
Leaves: Semi-evergreen
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Yellow
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring
Underground structures: Rhizome
Uses: Erosion control
Groundcover
Cut Flower
Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Resistances: Deer Resistant
Rabbit Resistant
Tolerates dry shade
Propagation: Other methods: Division
Pollinators: Bees
Various insects
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil

Image
Common names
  • Golden Ragwort
  • Golden Groundsel
Botanical names
  • Accepted: Packera aurea
  • Synonym: Senecio aureus

Photo Gallery
Uploaded by sallyg
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (May 2022)
Date: 2022-05-15
Location: Brownstown Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-04-30
Plenty of rain this spring and they're sreading & doing nicely !
Location: Maryland
Date: 2016-04-23
Location: North Carolina Botanical Gardens Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Date: February 28, 2023
Golden ragwort # 393; RAB p. 1037, 179-19-8, Synonym Senecio aure
Location: Douthat Park, VA (Near Bedford)

Date: 2010-09-22
Can cover large areas over time.

photo credit: Derek Ramsey
Uploaded by SongofJoy
Location: North Carolina Botanical Gardens Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Date: February 28, 2023
Golden ragwort # 393; RAB p. 1037, 179-19-8, Synonym Senecio aure
Location: Beneath an oak tree, northeastern Texas
Date: April 13, 2010
Location: Beneath an oak tree, northeastern Texas
Date: April
Spring blooms
Location: Natural Bridge, VA

Date: 2010-04-27
Basal foliage before flowering.
Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Date: 2012-04-16
groundcover in bloom
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2016-04-20
close-up of yellow flowers

photo credit: H. Zell
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-05-20
my patch with seed heads
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-05-20
the white seed heads

Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield

Date: 2008-04-22
Photo courtesy of: BillyBoy

Date: 2012-04-01
Photo courtesy of: Nicholas A. Tonelli

Date: 2010-08-04
Photo courtesy of: H. Zell
Location: Meadowlark Botanical Garden, Fairfax, Virginia (May 2022)
Date: 2022-05-01
Location: Maryland
Date: 2016-03-18
The purple buds give way to bright yellow blossoms.
Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-05-12
groundcover in bloom
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-04-26
expanding mass in yellow bloom
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-05-10
small group planted year before
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2016-02-18
emerging foliage in February

Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield

Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield

Date: 2007-02-19
Photo courtesy of: Pieter Pelser

Date: 2007-02-19
Photo courtesy of: Pieter Pelser

Date: 2007-02-19
Photo courtesy of: Pieter Pelser

Date: 2008-08-06
Photo courtesy of: Jim Kingdon

Date: 2012-03-23
Photo courtesy of: Fritzflohrreynolds

Date: 2010-08-04
Photo courtesy of: H. Zell

Date: 2010-08-04
Photo courtesy of: H. Zell

Date: 2010-08-04
Photo courtesy of: H. Zell
Location: Pappy Elkins Park.
Date: Summer 2000
Close up.
This plant is tagged in:
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Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Mar 11, 2018 8:15 PM concerning plant:
    This is a easy, reliable groundcover perennial that is almost evergreen farther south and still semi-evergreen to the north. Its native range is from southeast Canada & New England down to northwest Florida through Louisiana into eastern Oklahoma up through Minnesota into southern Manitoba & west Ontario, in wet meadows, swamps, and moist to wet woods. It makes a thick groundcover about a foot high that spreads by both underground stems (rhizomes) and by self-sowing of its dandelion-like, white fuzzy seeds at a moderate rate. It gets about 2 feet high when the flowering stalks come up to develop the yellow, daisy-like flowers, liked by many kinds of bees. It is sold by most native plant nurseries and by some larger, diverse conventional nurseries. I see it occasionally in shady landscapes and gardens. It does well in average garden soil. It makes a strong groundcover that out-competes many of the invasive Eurasian woodland forbs. It should be used more.
  • Posted by sallyg (central Maryland - Zone 7b) on May 14, 2020 7:48 PM concerning plant:
    I got a few little sprouts of this at a plant swap, which quickly grew to fill an area next to a silver maple, enough so that I moved a lot to another area with tree roots, where they bloomed and started to fill in. The plant can cope very well with dry shade and tree roots, unfortunalty it cannot cope with chickens scratching it over winter, and it is all gone.
  • Posted by SongofJoy (Clarksville, TN - Zone 6b) on Jan 15, 2012 8:32 AM concerning plant:
    This is a good plant for naturalizing in moist places.
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